High 1 · Reading series
Lesson 3 · A Club Without a Name
Audio track 03
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
Our school has clubs for music, sports, and art. This spring, four first-year students wanted to start something different. They had noticed that many useful things were thrown away because nobody knew how to fix them.
Their first meeting took place in an empty classroom. One student brought a broken pencil case, another a bicycle light, and a third a jacket with a missing button. They could repair only the jacket that day. The light needed a part they did not have, and they decided not to touch its wiring without an experienced adult.
When a teacher asked for the club's name, they could not agree. Some liked “Repair Lab”; others thought it sounded too serious. The teacher suggested that they run three small meetings before choosing a name. After all, a name should describe what they actually do.
Their next plan is to invite a local repair volunteer. For now, the group has no official name, but it already has a clear purpose: learn carefully and keep useful objects in use.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
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Our school has clubs for music, sports, and art.
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This spring, four first-year students wanted to start something different.
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They had noticed that many useful things were thrown away because nobody knew how to fix them.
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Their first meeting took place in an empty classroom.
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One student brought a broken pencil case, another a bicycle light, and a third a jacket with a missing button.
-
They could repair only the jacket that day.
-
The light needed a part they did not have, and they decided not to touch its wiring without an experienced adult.
-
When a teacher asked for the club's name, they could not agree.
-
Some liked “Repair Lab”; others thought it sounded too serious.
-
The teacher suggested that they run three small meetings before choosing a name.
-
After all, a name should describe what they actually do.
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Their next plan is to invite a local repair volunteer.
-
For now, the group has no official name, but it already has a clear purpose: learn carefully and keep useful objects in use.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
学校有音乐、体育和美术社团。今年春天，四名高一学生想做点不同的事。他们发现，许多仍有用的东西被丢掉，只因为没人知道怎么修。
第一次会议在一间空教室举行。一个人带来了坏掉的笔袋，另一个人带来了自行车灯，第三个人带来一件纽扣掉了的外套。那天，他们只修好了外套。车灯缺少零件；没有经验丰富的大人在场，他们决定不碰里面的电线。
老师问社团叫什么名字，他们却谈不拢。有些人喜欢‘维修实验室’，另一些人觉得听起来太严肃。老师建议先办三次小活动，再选名字。毕竟，名称应当能说明他们实际上在做什么。
接下来，他们打算邀请一位本地维修志愿者。如今小组还没有正式名称，却已有清楚的目标：认真学习修理，让有用的物品继续派上用场。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- useful
- 有用的；不少物品本可继续使用。
- throw away
- 扔掉；社团希望减少不必要的丢弃。
- take place
- 举行；第一次会议在空教室进行。
- repair
- 修理；那天只修好了外套。
- wiring
- 电线；车灯内部有不宜贸然碰的部分。
- experienced
- 有经验的；处理电气部件需要大人指导。
- agree
- 意见一致；学生没能就名称达成共识。
- suggest that ...
- 建议……；老师提议先活动三次再取名。
- actually
- 实际上；名称应反映真正做的事。
- purpose
- 目标；认真学习并延长物品使用时间。
Background notes (Chinese)
修理物品不等于每件东西都自己拆开。文中学生可以缝纽扣，却把涉及电线、缺少零件的车灯留给有经验的大人处理。社团先明确做法和目标，再考虑名称。